For years, 2K Sports maintained server support for the final edition of its defunct series, like All-Pro Football 2K8, NHL 2K10, and, most importantly, College Hoops 2K8, where a robust user community was updating, re-rating and sharing rosters well into this year.

It now appears online support for all of these titles was quietly pulled at the beginning of this month.

The only 2K Sports titles with confirmed online support today are 2011's Top Spin 4, Major League Baseball 2K12, and, of course, NBA 2K13. I booted into College Hoops 2K8, All-Pro Football 2K8, and even NBA 2K12 and got messages saying 2K Sports servers were offline in each one. Kotaku has reached out to 2K Sports representatives for clarification.

The server shutdowns are significant because it effectively means the end of College Hoops 2K8's roster sharing community. Though the game was canceled in early 2008, its online support—and the ability to share edited rosters with real-world, re-rated performers—continued through this autumn. All Pro Football 2K8, the spiritual heir to the beloved NFL 2K5, no longer has online multiplayer. NBA 2K12 likewise has no online support, at last check.

In 2011 EA Sports shut down online support, including roster sharing, for its NCAA Basketball series, which as a physical release outlived College Hoops by a year and was canceled after its November 2009 release. Theoretically, rosters may still be shared among PC gamers playing College Hoops 2K8 or playing college mods of 2K Sports' NBA series, but this is effectively the death of college basketball in console video gaming.

NBA 2K12 gamers first noticed the outage, according to this thread, begun three weeks ago. They pointed to this message on 2K Sports' Forums, saying the servers for everything but MLB 2K12 and NBA 2K13 went dark on Nov. 1. I checked and was still able to create matches and connect to other players in Top Spin 4, 2K Sports' acclaimed tennis simulation released in 2011.

College basketball has long been a problematic license for sports publishers. Though the NCAA has a billion-dollar television contract for its championship tournament and summons millions of viewers in North America in March, titles under its license released in November, typically at the end of the simulation sports publishing cycle, and were cannibalized by the professional basketball games. College sports simulations also face the threat of litigation; a lawsuit currently in U.S. federal court claims the NCAA and its licensed games publishers—i.e. EA Sports—unlawfully used actual amateur players' likenesses.

EA Sports developed a roster-sharing feature through its console games in response to the NCAA's unwillingness to license the use of its athletes' real names. 2K Sports' "roster share" feature, which arrived later in its College Hoops title, was similar in structure.

Kotaku

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You Don't Have to Wait for NBA 2K13 to See Which Dream Team Would Win

22 aug, 2012

If you want to face off the 1992 USA "Dream Team" of basketball versus the 2012 edition, without waiting for NBA 2K13, NLSC has the file you need, provided you're playing NBA 2K12 on a PC. [via Operation Sports]

Kotaku

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If He Doesn't Win Re-Election, President Obama Can Always Coach the Dallas Mavericks

25 maj, 2012

Or the Chicago Bulls. Or Golden State Warriors. Or any team in NBA 2K12's Association or My Player modes, as Reddit user soadfan09 discovered today.

This has actually been known for some time, but it's still cool to see POTUS now as HCOTDM. He'll show up on the sidelines about three seasons into your team's dynasty or your player's career, and can end up on any team. He seems to frequently appear with his hometown Bulls but Google searches reveal forum threads back in the winter that mention Obama as the coach of other teams.

Obama appears in the game (and appeared in NBA 2K11) in an off-season cinematic in which your team visits the White House if it has won the NBA championship. So, that's why the facial modeling of the leader of the free world is on the disc in the first place. I think he looks a little bit like former Knick and current ESPN college analyst Hubert Davis, but I guess that's the ears.

Hell, William Howard Taft went on to serve as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. John Quincy Adams served in the House of Representatives. If Obama doesn't get re-elected, coaching in the NBA isn't such a bad second act, either.

So its 2019 in my NBA2K12 basketball franchise and there is a very interesting new coach in the league.... [Reddit]

Kotaku

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No Justice, No Peace, No Ring for the Lakers, Says NBA 2K12

28 apr, 2012

How important is Metta World Peace to the Los Angeles Lakers? Well, NBA 2K12 says the team would win the Western Conference with him in the lineup. As it is, he's suspended for the next six games, and that's exactly as long as Denver will need to dispatch the Lakers, according to the game.

In an all-background sim of NBA 2K12 with the most current roster, released yesterday—and its depth chart is adjusted to reflect the absence of World Peace—Los Angeles won the first two games at home, then lost four straight to the Nuggets. On the bright side, L.A., this concludes all of Artest World Peace's suspension, so you'll get him back in time for your next game, which will be around Oct. 30. He got the timeout when he went all Thunder-Punch He-Man on James Harden of the Oklahoma City Thunder last Sunday.

After getting 32 and 41 points from Kobe Bryant in games one and two, the Lakers gagged away a 10-point lead in the fourth quarter of game four to knot the series, and utterly disintegrated in the thin Rocky Mountain air, losing 108-80 in game six.

Elsewhere in the first round of the simulation, the eighth-seeded Philadelphia 76ers tip off at this moment against the top-seeded Chicago Bulls, on TNT. NBA 2K12 says the Sixers will go seven games before losing 107-97 in the finale; Orlando dispatches Indiana in six to set up an all-Sunshine State second round versus the Miami Heat, winning in six against New York. Boston eases past Atlanta in five.

In the Western Conference, San Antonio cruises by Utah in five; Memphis likewise defeats the L.A. Clippers 4-1. The big stunner, in addition to Denver ending the Lakers' season, is the Dallas Mavericks taking out second-seed Oklahoma City in 6 games. The Thunder suffer an eight-point third quarter and get walloped 120-78 in the clincher.

In the second round, NBA 2K12 calls for a four-game sweep of Memphis by the Spurs, to face Denver, which prevails in six over Dallas. In the Eastern Conference, Boston stuns the Bulls in seven to meet the Heat, six-game winners over Orlando, reprising their second-round matchup from last year.

Conference winners, according to the game, will be the Spurs in five and the Heat in five, an eminently safe call. Incidentally, the simulation with Artest in the lineup had the Lakers facing Miami in the finals.

I only simulated through the conference championships. I'll revisit this when the actual Finals pairings are set.

Finally, you may be wondering what happened to Biff Tannen's Sports Almanac. I got an email from the future, with a picture showing Biff's apartment totally trashed, pages from Gray's Sports Almanac shredded and littering the living room, a shattered Mr. Fusion hurled into the fireplace.

Biff was 20 games underwater and it seems his bookmaker sent some old-school thumb breakers from 1976 to collect. "o xant gelief theyd do tfis," Biff writes. "i swar i was gona hut it big w/nhl plaoofs." Sorry Biff.

Kotaku

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NBA 2K12 Update Released

6 mar, 2012

These are the full game update notes for the PC version of NBA 2K12. ONLINE• Several matchmaking optimizations have been made in order to help users get into games quicker. This will reduce the amount of time the Searching For Opponent… screen is displayed for.• Addressed a number of network errors that would cause games to end prematurely.• Addressed an issue in Team-Up where certain conditions would lead to a player standing idle for prolonged periods of time.• Corrected a Win/Loss streak tracking issue such that the Back to Back to Back achievement/trophy will now unlock at the proper time.• Fixed an issue that would cause large-user Team-Up games to hang at halftime if all users watched the halftime show in-full.• Addressed an issue that would lead to a disconnect in subsequent games when one or more users modified their playbook for the current game.• A number of Association: Online optimizations were made to greatly minimize disconnects.• Additionally, general optimization improvements were made in order to improve the overall online experience.GENERAL• Previously unlocked NBAs Greatest games and Gift with Purchase Kings/Warriors teams will now remain unlocked after playing and exiting the Association/My Player game modes.• Fixed a rare issue that would cause the game to hang when attempting to skip the pre-game presentation in Season and Playoff modes.• Corrected an issue where players could become duplicated after editing a Created Team.• PIPPEN dunk package has been updated so that it can be re-assigned to Pippen when switched off of him.• Addressed issue where Created Players are assigned Cold Zones for all shot locations. This change applies for all generated players in Association/My Player modes as well.• The Adidas Zig Pro Future and ZigEncore shoes should now have the correct shoe image associated with them.GAMEPLAY• On-dribbler steal success rates have been tuned down.• Tuned accuracy of directional passing in order to more reliably pass to the intended target.• Improved help defense, specifically for rotations on pick-and-roll situations.• Defensive tuning on 3PT shots to reduce the success of contested threes.• Addressed an issue on drives to the basket where the help defender wouldnt fully engage in the double team.• Increased the velocity of lob passes into the post so they are less vulnerable to tips and steals.• Reduced steal success when the defender attempts a steal from behind the ballhandler.• Tuned player lunges on steal attempts such that they dont cover an unrealistic amount of ground.• Tuned AI passes from the wing down into the post. The AI is now smarter during this situation, specifically where the perimeter defender is sagging off the ballhandler in anticipation of this pass.• Corrected an issue where during online gameplay, a shot ball would re-launch even after it had been blocked.• Tuned AI playcalling during late-game situations so that they initiate plays faster.• Fixed an issue where the CPU ballhandler would take too long to pass (or in some cases, not pass the ball at all) when running a play in My Player.• Addressed an issue where the user would inadvertently commit an intentional foul with a defender when attempting to contest a shot with his hands up.• Tuned animation selection that would cause a player to lose forward momentum when attempting a Swat Block.• Addressed a specific case where attempting a pass fake would cause the pass to be thrown.• 8-second violations will no longer be called when the ball is poked loose and enters the backcourt.• Training Camp: Triple Threat drill score requirements lowered in order to make it a little easier to complete the drill.MY PLAYER• Corrected an issue where the game would hang after winning the NBA Finals in My Player mode.• Trading logic has been greatly improved in this mode. In particular, your teams GM will no longer overhaul the roster once you join the team.• Your teams GM will now do a better job of acquiring one of your recommended players when he comes to you asking for potential trade targets. Be careful what you ask for!• Fixed an issue where both teams in a game would be using the wrong playbooks on occasion.• A few select season-long milestones (e.g. Shoot 85% or better from the free throw line) should now properly unlock when the prerequisite conditions are met.• The camera should now properly follow the action in your Signature Shoe Commercial.THE ASSOCIATION• A number of trade logic improvements have been made for this experience (these apply to Association: Online as well).• Addressed the CPU lineup building / player role allocation such that players no longer become unnecessarily upset with the direction of their respective teams.• New coaching staff is now generated when you get many years into the mode. This will result in sufficiently skilled coaches available to be hired.

Product Update

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British Commentary Makes Everything Funnier, Especially Basketball

29 feb, 2012

Comedian Anthony Richardson knows how to make basketball even more entertaining — fill it with hilarious, clueless commentary that seems to be voiced by somebody who has never watched a game of hoops in his life.

Check out this video of him commentating on an NBA 2k12-simulated matchup of last week's NBA All Star Game.

"You would'a thought that they'd get it in every time, but that's why basketball's so exciting, apparently," he notes.

Of all the tributes to the Knicks phenomenon Jeremy Lin, the best one on video might be stitched together from highlights in NBA 2K12, where Lin is currently rated a 75 and, who knows, may see the mid-80s before the end of the month.
This video was cut by Operation Sports' Shady 00018. Last night Lin and the Knicks took down the Atlanta Hawks 99-82 last night. Tonight, they face LeBron James' Miami Heat, in Miami. Tipoff is in 45 minutes on TNT.

2K Sports pulls a Jordan on March 6, combining its stellar basketball game with its so-so baseball franchise in the Xbox 360 exclusive $69.99 MLB 2K12/NBA 2K12 Combo Pack.

Kotaku

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A Puzzling Resurgence in Popularity for NBA 2K11

26 jan, 2012

At first blush it doesn't seem to stand out: NBA 2K11 cracked the top 20 of most played titles on the Xbox 360 for the week of Jan. 16. But when you peel it back, that's actually quite astonishing, to see an old version of a sports video game resurface more than 15 months after its release.

This is not unprecedented. EA Sports' FIFA series routinely places its two most current editions in the Xbox Live top 20, especially around the time the new version is releasing. (FIFA 11 and FIFA 12 were top 20 from 12's Sept. 27 release to the end of the year.) FIFA's global popularity certainly explains its longevity here. Madden, EA Sports' long-running powerhouse, also does a double-dip in its release window, though it drops off more quickly.

But a look back suggests that when the old version leaves the top 20, it usually doesn't come back. Certainly not after a three-month layoff.

What's going on? I put this to some folks inside 2K Sports, who were just as surprised (albeit pleasantly) as I was. It doesn't track to the tip off of the new NBA season—that was Dec. 25. While 2K Sports announced it would extend online support for NBA 2K11, in light of problems with NBA 2K12's multiplayer features, that happened back in November, a month after release. And it's especially irrelevant as this figure concerns the unique users playing the game who are connected to Xbox Live, which has nothing to do with playing online multiplayer or connecting to the 2K servers.

It could be that NBA 2K11, whose "Jordan Challenge" series celebrates the career highlights of the NBA's greatest player, really is heirloom quality, as I called it in my review at the time. The Jordan Challenge is exclusive to NBA 2K11, not 2K12, and no doubt drives back catalog sales of that game—an absolute rarity in modern console sports gaming. I've suggested that 2K Sports, if it can, should cut this out and offer it for DLC, playable in the current game. But these numbers would put off that kind of action, probably until sometime next year.

It seems a little too easy to explain it that way. A sale, maybe? NBA 2K11 has a lower price tag by definition. The cover is similar to the Jordan cover (one of three) of NBA 2K12, too. The numbering may be confusing to those who don't normally buy the game, but wouldn't we have seen that influence before?

Who knows. NBA 2K11 was an unbelievable phenomenon for a sports title of predominantly North American interest. It was an NPD Top 20 seller, across all platforms, for all 12 months post-release. Maybe its staying power is just now becoming known.

Kotaku

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A Puzzling Resurgence in Popularity for NBA 2K11

26 jan, 2012

At first blush it doesn't seem to stand out: NBA 2K11 cracked the top 20 of most played titles on the Xbox 360 for the week of Jan. 16. But when you peel it back, that's actually quite astonishing, to see an old version of a sports video game resurface more than 15 months after its release.

This is not unprecedented. EA Sports' FIFA series routinely places its two most current editions in the Xbox Live top 20, especially around the time the new version is releasing. (FIFA 11 and FIFA 12 were top 20 from 12's Sept. 27 release to the end of the year.) FIFA's global popularity certainly explains its longevity here. Madden, EA Sports' long-running powerhouse, also does a double-dip in its release window, though it drops off more quickly.

But a look back suggests that when the old version leaves the top 20, it usually doesn't come back. Certainly not after a three-month layoff.

What's going on? I put this to some folks inside 2K Sports, who were just as surprised (albeit pleasantly) as I was. It doesn't track to the tip off of the new NBA season—that was Dec. 25. While 2K Sports announced it would extend online support for NBA 2K11, in light of problems with NBA 2K12's multiplayer features, that happened back in November, a month after release. And it's especially irrelevant as this figure concerns the unique users playing the game who are connected to Xbox Live, which has nothing to do with playing online multiplayer or connecting to the 2K servers.

It could be that NBA 2K11, whose "Jordan Challenge" series celebrates the career highlights of the NBA's greatest player, really is heirloom quality, as I called it in my review at the time. The Jordan Challenge is exclusive to NBA 2K11, not 2K12, and no doubt drives back catalog sales of that game—an absolute rarity in modern console sports gaming. I've suggested that 2K Sports, if it can, should cut this out and offer it for DLC, playable in the current game. But these numbers would put off that kind of action, probably until sometime next year.

It seems a little too easy to explain it that way. A sale, maybe? NBA 2K11 has a lower price tag by definition. The cover is similar to the Jordan cover (one of three) of NBA 2K12, too. The numbering may be confusing to those who don't normally buy the game, but wouldn't we have seen that influence before?

Who knows. NBA 2K11 was an unbelievable phenomenon for a sports title of predominantly North American interest. It was an NPD Top 20 seller, across all platforms, for all 12 months post-release. Maybe its staying power is just now becoming known.